


How to Save a Life

by duhitsnisha



Category: The Flash (Comics), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 05:44:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4008067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duhitsnisha/pseuds/duhitsnisha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of the fight with the Reverse Flash, everyone is just trying to get back to normal. Unfortunately, there are other plans in the cards - when Caitlin Snow gets into an accident involving a thermodynamic, her body merges with ice - turning her into Killer Frost. Now, Barry will have to face off against someone who has become one of his closest friends. Can they bring her back from the edge?</p>
            </blockquote>





	How to Save a Life

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place at some point in time after the events of S1. I hope you guys like it :)

It started out like any other day.

It was supposed to end like any other day.

Caitlin Snow wasn't supposed to end up in an accident. She wasn't supposed to be trapped in the thermodynamic engine. She wasn't supposed to rip out the coolant system. Her body wasn't supposed to merge with ice.

Cisco, Barry, Ronnie and Iris stood around her body, which sat on a hospital bed. It was safer to treat her at STAR labs, as hard as it was for them to do so. Her temperature seemed to get lower and lower. In anyone else, she would be hypothermic and a lifeless, cold corpse by now, but while her body temperature was low, her vitals remained stable. They weren't doctors, but they did the best they could with what they had.

Ronnie stood at her side, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to come to the surface. Iris walked over to him and gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze - she of all people knew what it was like to lose someone you love. The pain from losing Eddie still danced around her eyes if you looked close enough.

Cisco stood at the other end, trying to hold it all together. His best friend, his partner-in-crime, really, was possibly on the brink of death, all because of an accident.

Ronnie stepped forward to stand directly next to Caitlin. Barry found himself gravitating towards Iris, his hand reaching for hers as she struggled to choke back a sob. Iris, of course, had come to really care for Caitlin, but the memories of Eddie couldn't help but amplify her concern. She didn't want anyone to feel the pain that she felt as Eddie died in her arms, wanting to be her hero.

Barry grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. She turned to him and gave him a small, sad smile, leaning into him. No, they weren't a couple. It was far too soon for that. But there was no way that they could get through life without each other. Something had changed with them, there was no doubting that, but Iris needed time and Barry was willing to give her as much time as she needed.

After a minute, the long, tense silence was broken by the sound of a whimsical ring tone coming from Iris's purse on the counter. She gave an apologetic glance at everyone and then walked over to grab her phone, looking at the caller ID.

"My dad. Cousin Wally's probably at the airport. I gotta go pick him up," Iris said. Her eyes looked apologetic at having to leave Caitlin's side. It was supposed to be a normal day. No one was supposed to get into an accident.

"You want me to go with you?" Barry offered.

Iris smiled. "I'll be fine. I'll let you know about dinner with him and Dad tonight." She said, picking up her purse and slinging it over her shoulder. She turned her attention to everyone. "Let me know if anything changes." Cisco nodded and Iris gave Caitlin one last look before exiting STAR labs.

Ronnie still stood over Caitlin. "You'll be okay, Cait. I know you will." He slowly reached over to touch her arm. For a moment, her skin felt ice cold. Then, it felt hot underneath his touch.

Suddenly, Caitlin jolted up, dazed and disoriented. Ronnie jumped back in surprise, while Cisco and Barry rushed to her side.

"What-what happened?" Caitlin said, almost frantic.

"Cait, it's okay, you're okay," Ronnie said soothingly. She looked at both Cisco and Barry, who had equal amounts of concern on their faces. She seemed to calm down a little bit.

"Why are you all crowded around me?" That's when she noticed that she was on a hospital bed in the lab, hooked up to a monitor. "Oh, god, am I dying?"

"You were in an accident. With the engine. Do you remember?" Barry said, stepping forward.

Caitlin shook her head slowly. "I don't know. It's all very…fuzzy."

"That's okay, you don't have to remember right now. You need to rest." Ronnie said.

"I'm…cold." Caitlin said, unsure of herself. It felt like had just bathed in ice water.

"Well, you were a popsicle…metaphorically speaking," Cisco piped up. "I mean, like, you were ice cold. Below ice cold. We thought you were a goner."

Caitlin struggled to register this information. Everything felt fuzzy and still incredibly cold. "C-can I get some water?"

Barry nodded. "Of course," he said, zipping out of the room in a flash. He returned instantly with a glass of water, handing it to her. She managed to smile weakly before taking the glass.

"You're all looking at me like I'm some delicate…ice sculpture that's about to break," her quiet attempt at humor elicited concerned chuckles from everyone around.

"We just want to make sure that you're okay," Ronnie said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

For the second that it was there, it felt…burning. Burning cold. She felt hungry for more, but she wasn't sure if it was because it was her husband's comforting touch of whatever that sensation was that came with it. She managed to smile at him as she brought the glass of water to her mouth and took a long sip. Ronnie walked over to Cisco and Barry and proceeded to whisper about something that Caitlin couldn't hear. She chose to ignore it for now, remembering just how dry her throat felt. She downed the glass until she hit an ice cube. However, when she pulled the glass back to look, she saw that it wasn't an ice cube. The water she was drinking had started to freeze halfway up the cup. A few lines of water pooled on top of it. She watched in horror as the spot of the glass where her hand was began to freeze over, with the rest of the cup slowly turning to ice. With a yelp, Caitlin dropped the glasses and it shattered to the floor, causing the three men to look up from their conversation at her.

"Caitlin, what happened? Are you okay?" Ronnie immediately started to rush over to her.

Caitlin hopped off of the bed. "I-I'm fine. I just need to go to the bathroom. Excuse me." She began to walk.

"Caitlin!" Barry called after her.

She waved him off. "I'm fine. I just have to pee. That's all." She said, trying to shove down the panic that was creeping up in her voice. She quickly exited the room.

Ronnie turned to Cisco and Barry. "I have to go after her." They nodded, as if it were common sense, and Ronnie rushed after her.

"Okay, I know I'm not the only one who thought that that was weird." Cisco pointed out. "That was my favorite glass too."

"Cisco, it was just a plain glass."

"The plain ones are the best ones," Cisco countered, and Barry managed to crack a smile despite whatever was going on with Caitlin.

"I'll clean this up," Barry said, about to quickly clean up the mess.

Cisco looked at the glass, then peered closer. "Wait a minute. I distinctly remember no ice in that glass of water?"

"Yeah, so?"

"There's ice on the ground, Barry." Cisco said. Barry paused and walked next to Cisco, looking at the broken shards of glass and ice. "Now this is definitely freaky."

Meanwhile, Caitlin paced around the STAR labs bathroom - she hadn't noticed how nice the bathroom actually was. What had happened to her? She felt cold again. She had frozen the water in her glass, and then the glass itself. She stood and looked at herself in the mirror. Everything seemed to be in one peace. "Get it together, Caitlin," she breathed to herself, shaking her head.

She was interrupted by her thoughts as Ronnie knocked on the door. "Cait, you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'll be right out!" She yelled back. She placed her hands on the side of the sink, staring at herself in the mirror. "Everything's fine," she told her reflection. She felt ice underneath her fingers and looked down, horrified, to see that the sink was starting to ice over. She frantically let go, taking a step away from it as if it were poisonous. This isn't happening, this is a nightmare, a horrible, horrible nightmare, she thought. She looked in the mirror again. Something seemed different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She pinched herself, hoping the pain would wake her up. No such luck. This was real. This was horribly, terribly real.

On the other side of the door, Ronnie knocked again, concerned about the state of his wife. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. When he touched her, she felt different, not just because of the colder body temperature. There was something different that he couldn't put his finger on. Call it husband's intuition, but something was off. Before he could think about it any further, the bathroom door opened and Caitlin emerged with a clearly forced smile - he had seen those too many times when she pretended she wasn't upset at him for not doing the dishes. "Caitlin, what's wrong? Talk to me."

Instead of doing just that, she kept the smile on her face. "I'm fine. I just want to go home and get some rest."

"Don't you want to-"

"Ronnie. Please." Caitlin pleaded lightly.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay."

It started out like any other day.

It was supposed to end like any other day.

But the worst part was - their days were filled with metahumans and superpowers and the impossible - so this? This was just like any other day.


End file.
